Care of an Invisalign Tray

An Invisalign tray is in essence a piece of plastic molded to be shaped like your teeth -

It is in your mouth 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, only taken out while you eat food or drink anything but water. So it's important these are cared for well! If you got them brown and gunky, then since they are "over" your teeth your teeth would now look brown and gunky. True you wear them for maybe 4 weeks maximum before you move on to a fresh new tray, but still, you don't want 4 weeks of brown gunky looking teeth.

Invisalign recommends soaking the trays in their proprietary crystal blend, which they'll sell you for only $75 for 50 packs. That seems rather extreme to me for a piece of plastic :) They do say a soft toothbrush and toothpaste will work fine. I would think so, since the tray is NEVER in your mouth while food is. It is only put into a clean, freshly brushed mouth. All that should ever touch it is saliva and water.

Here are some tips for proper care of your Invisalign aligners.

Have clean hands (duh!) when touching these things since they're going in your mouth. Wash them off immediately when you remove them, and store them in the storage tray. Brush them before putting them back into your mouth - and brush your teeth too!

When you remove the aligners, use only your fingers and start on one end (back molar) and gently work your way around. They are a little tight on the first wearing or two but then get easier to slip on and off as your teeth ease into place. Be gentle with them - they are soft plastic. Try to remove them infrequently (i.e. only when you really have to) so you are not twisting and stressing them more than necessary.

When you put them back in, look at the little printed label to make sure you're using the right tray # and upper / lower set. You can mark your tray #s on your calendar to help you keep track of what you're on. Start by aligning them over your center teeth and then working your way back to the back teeth.

They say to NOT use denture cleaners since they can make the plastic dull and more obvious.

You should not drink anything but water while wearing them. Other liquids can damage the invisaligns. I imagine the acids in soda and wine would do quite a number on them :) This includes chewing gum and smoking.

Join Me

Subscribe

Search

About Lisa's Sites

This LisaShea site is one of over twenty sites I own and run. The key focus of each of my sites is to help visitors improve their lives and find joy in each day. Many of my books' proceeds are donated to charity. I have been online since the early '80s, began publishing in 1987, and have now published over 300 books.
Use my Site Map to get started!Be the change you wish to see in the world.